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Elves
The elves, or ellyilen, ''are the fair-skinned, pointy-eared people of the woods. They have a connection with nature that no other race possesses, and a bit of a wild streak. However, this doesn’t make them any less human. In fact, elves were the first race to open diplomatic and commercial ties with another race in the Common Era when they began trading with the eormen. '''Basic Attributes' · Average Height – Men: 5’8, Women: 5’3” · Senses - Good eyesight and hearing. Almost non-existent taste · Appearance – Slender, slightly angular (but only slightly). o Fair skin, mostly light hair, and brown, blue, and green eyes. o Pointy ears (as always). · Energy type - Green. Cannot wield gold or red · Home - Codenwellt, the forest kingdom · Racial Stat Adjustments – Acu +1 Home and Culture Elf culture is relatively homogenous around the world. Like the zemy, elves have a strong connection with fellow elves even if physical distances may be vast. They also are rarely the power-hungry sort, and have been content to follow the same lifestyle for thousands of years. Elves are often druidic, and elf cities are not as common as eormen cities. That said, elf numbers are pretty high, not near the eorman, but not as low as the orcs. Elves are spread across the forests evenly, with a family of elves staking out a certain tract of woods rather than many elves living in a small area. In other words, the elf population is regularly distributed rather than clumping into cities. The elf cities that do exist tend to serve a specific religious, political, or commercial purpose. Cities for the sake of industry are pointless, as elf industry exists only on very small scales. Most elf cities are very sparsely populated most of the year. They are seasonal homes of a sort. Every year, during the summer, elves from a surrounding area go to the central settlement and camp for a week to month-long festival. The settlements then prove to be capable of providing homes for hundreds or thousands of elves, with massive trees that become makeshift hotels. Settlements like these also become busy a few times a year when trading shipments come in. They are the trading outposts for all elves in the area. Many elves are anti-technology, instead channeling magic. Though their magic hasn’t evolved much over the millennia, they have developed very powerful control of nature. A subset of technology that elves arguably do invest in is biotechnology. Elves have in many ways engineered their surroundings to their liking. The food they eat has been perfectly designed for sustenance, the trees they live in were magically engineered as perfect natural homes, and the animals they tame and hunt are often far cries from their original wild predecessors. Elves use their power over nature to shape it to fit their needs, and in this way they are more human than they tend to believe themselves. Not all elves work in any sort of biological engineering. There are some that live in the wild, on the wild, and they are still accepted into elf culture. There is also a line that most elves draw between what is natural and what isn’t. Often, this line simply relies on the aesthetic appeal of a creation. If a new animal looks like a grotesque monster, then it is a perversion of nature. If it looks “natural”, then it’s perfectly acceptable. These lines become more and more blurred in regions where eormen and elves co-exist. Here, eormen technology is sometimes mixed with elvish biological engineering to make rather unique creations. There are three main forests of habitation for elves. The most important is of course Codenwellt, the massive country-sized forest that is the core elvish domain. This is the cultural and religious center of all elves, centered at the great tree Codencorn (the horn of Chwillysieuyn). Even the elves of other forests will call Codenwellt their true home. Other forests that harbor elves are found in the southeast and northwest of Fifelwaen. These forests are still mostly inhabited by elves, though there is a good bit of interaction with eormen. Without the elves, the forests would probably have fallen. These forests are very sparsely populated by any human, including elves. The most common elves there are rangers, who act as guardians of the wilds. There are other sites within Oria that elves have deemed sacred or important. Part of this sacredness stems from the emanation of green energy at these locations. The energy creates verdant forests at these locations, and these forests are protected by elves. Once again rangers are tasked with the protection of these regions. A ranger must undergo specific training and an apprenticeship to get their job, but the job is highly respected. Their survival skills and combat ability makes them some of the best one-on-one fighters in all of Chromoria. They are also the main line of defense for Codenwellt. However, rangers are most dangerous as hunters and skirmishers in their native forests. They are not effective in large-scale, open battles. Elves are governed by a decentralized monarchy. A high king or queen technically governs all of Codenwellt, but this leader gives much autonomy to different counties of the forest. Each of these counties is managed by a governor, but even these elves aren’t that powerful. Elves are a fiercely independent bunch, and while the job of organizing and maintaining order is recognized as necessary, it’s not held in especially high esteem. Governors are more managers than rulers. When decisions need to be made, the best a governor can due is hold a meeting of the county to settle an issue together. Elves are sometimes thought to be a bit conceited. Indeed, they often look down on eorman civilization. That said, elves and eormen have co-existed in peace for most of history. While occasional arguments break out over eormen ambition and disregard for the environment, the symbiotic relationship between elf control of life and eormen grasp of technology and learning have kept them as allies most of the time. While elves try not to use technology, they don’t mind reaping the benefits. Deorlen in particular has a large number of elves. It is here, where elves tend to lose their strong cultural identity. Moreover, as noted in the eormen section, elves and eormen are the most common races to mix. It’s come to a point that they are simply referred to as half-elves, though more culturally aware individuals have tried to get that changed to eorilen. Because of their mixed identity, the eorilen have their very own subculture that combines parts of the eormen and the elves. They do not quite fit in well with either group, but their numbers are large enough that they have formed their very own community, mostly in Deorlen. Elves are also found co-existing with eormen in the swamps. Here, again eorilen are particularly adept, since a swamp can be seen as a natural combination of water and nature (there is also dirt, and this too is something that some elves can control). Elves have an amicable relationship with zemy for the most part, though it doesn’t extend too far. Both prefer isolation too much for a strong relationship to form. Elves tend not to get along with orcs. They seem them as impulsive and destructive. Meanwhile orcs consider elves to be hoity-toity and arrogant. There have been rumors and myths of elves living forever, or at the very least a long time. This is mostly incorrect, as all elves are mortal. However, like many myths, there is some truth to it. Elf magic is strongly connected with life, allows for elves to heal well, and prevents many diseases. As a result, elves tend to live into old age, and powerful shamans have been said to live 150 years or more. Family The elf family is not that too different the eorman family. Elves have extended family networks, but the core is still the nuclear family. This is mostly because of the way elves are spread homogenously and thinly across the forest. Your closest friends will be those who live with you, and because there aren’t many neighbors nearby, they will probably be family. Elf marriage is very common. Partners generally find each other by simply wandering. While elves are strongly connected to their forest, they aren’t especially rooted to any one spot. Often, a family is semi-nomadic, picking up after a year or two and moving somewhere else. These moves allows elves to get to know each other, and young elves will often fall in love during this time. It’s worth noting that elf marriage may be the most romantic of all (besides perhaps orcs). Eormen often marry for practical reasons. Altomine marriages are almost always political. Zemy don’t marry at all. Elves, however, almost exclusively marry for love. This is somewhat related to their religion, as there is a belief in a special innate bond between two people that are soul mates. Elf families also tend not to be particularly large. It is common knowledge that elves have practiced contraception for thousands of years. A family lives off of the land, foraging and hunting. While this may sound primitive, elvish foraging is probably better thought of as a form of farming. Though there aren’t farms the way you may see them in Fifelfeorm, elves cultivate the forest where they live, and can even control what grows where. They plant trees, remove plants they dislike, and keep the forest in a form that suits elvish needs. In fact, truly untouched parts of Codenwellt are extremely rare. Almost all of the forest is, in a sense, manmade. Elves usually keep track of their cousins and grandparents and reunite every few years or so, or at festivals. However, their semi-nomadic nature prevents close-knit communities from developing over generations. Religion Elf religion revolves around the concept that all life is interconnected in a single web. Green energy is the makeup of life and living things. The energy itself is considered conscious and made of many souls. When a new person is born, they are born from the soul of green energy. When someone dies, they return to energy. Thus, elves believe in a form of reincarnation. Those that die will return in the form of new life. This is somewhat similar to the zemy belief of returning to the earth. However, while zemy believe the soul is made of building blocks that then break down and recombine to form a new “soul”, elves believe that each individual soul remains in tact in new places. It may move to a new location, such as a bear or even a tree, but the soul itself is a constant. Thus, the individual is a much more important entity than it is in zemy religion. Elves treat the cycle of life as neither good nor bad. There is infinite pleasure, but there is also infinite pain as one continuously returns. Life is simply what you make of it. By all accounts though, it is sacred. Any act that interferes with it is considered wrong. This is part of the argument against technology (an argument that has been weakening in the past few hundred years). It is possible to escape the cycle. Elves believe that some great spirits move on to another plane. They are thought to be enlightened, and to have left behind mortal suffering (and pleasure to an extent). However, most elves are content to remain in the cycle. Elf religion is highly spiritual, but its deities are very inhuman. They can best be compared to Codencorn: they are powerful, animal, and intelligent in a way very different from humans. Elf gods are generally incorporeal and without personality. They are simply essences and powers that exist. However, they can still be prayed to and represented, generally via other animals or plants. There are seven main deities representing different aspects and traits important to elves. Codencorn is the central of these, and is thought to exist as much more than just the corporeal body. Some of these deities are recognized as having corporeal bodies in other regions. The elves understand the worship done of them by others, though they think that it is more than necessary, and Chwillysieuyn deserves more. The 7 Deities ' Chwillysieuyn Codencorn' is the god of green energy and the cycle of life. As such, he is the patron of the elves and the main deity. Gofanon is the god of stone and order. Gofanon is the full form of the corporeal Ellonacka. Gofanon isn’t very important to elves, as order isn’t particularly important to the fiercely independent elves. Dea Latis is the goddess of water and freedom. She has a corporeal aspect that is Aegvalas. The elves see her as important, as life could not exist without water, and could not find happiness without freedom. However, she is subservient to nature still. Blodeuedd is the goddess of air, beauty, and commerce. She is generally linked to Ctenubem. Lugus is the god of fire, light, and, love, and with an aspect as K’vishra. Donn is the god of darkness and fate, and thought to be Umbris as well. Donn is rarely prayed to, and his powers are thought to be able to remove a spirit from the cycle of life (but not for the better). Though Donn is not a favorite among elves, he is not considered evil. Ecne is the goddess of knowledge and final life, often correlated to Oria and the moon. Those who seek enlightenment often worship Ecne. Category:Races